Serrated edge coin separator with magnetic rail



Dec. 18, 1969 K. E. PENNELL. ET AL 3,483,958

SERRATED EDGE COIN SEPARATOR WITH MAGNETIC RAIL Filed March 29, 1968INVENTORS. K/f E. Pen/veil Or'esfe SoPaci United States Patent 3,483,958SERRATED EDGE COIN SEPARATOR WITH MAGNETIC RAIL Kit E. Pennell andOreste Soraci, Independence, M0., assignors to The Vendo Company, KansasCity, M0., a corporation of Missouri Filed Mar. 29, 1968, Ser. No.717,274 Int. Cl. G07f 3/02 U.S. Cl. 194-102 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A coin acceptor tests the validity of a deposited coin bysensing whether or not the edge of the coin is serrated, the presence ofserrations being indicative of validity. The coin rolls down a rail andits edge engages a shiftable separator device that moves with the coininto clearing relationship thereto (to allow the coin to gravitate fromthe rail) if serrations are present to frictionally grip the device andforce it to shift with the coin. In the absence of serrations the smoothedge of the coin slidably engages the device to effect lifting of alatch arm to a raised position where it engages a catch and locks thedevice to thereby stop the coin and hold the same on the rail forremoval by scavenging. The lower end of the rail is magnetized in orderto cause serrated coins of magnetic composition gravitating from therail to follow trajectories determined by their magnetic properties,thus enabling the acceptor to reject steel slugs irrespective of thepresence of serrations.

A proposed change in the composition of Canadian dimes and quarters fromnonmagnetic coinage material to pure nickel has produced the need for acoin acceptor for vending machines that is capable of handling presentCanadian and United States nonmagnetic coins plus the proposed nickelCanadian coinage which is magnetic. In the case of quarters, forexample, the present Canadian quarter and older United States quartersare of nonmagnetic, silver alloy composition. The clad composition ofnewer U.S. quarters is similarly nonmagnetic and of approximately thesame electrical conductivity as the silver alloy coinage. Thus, sinceboth US. and Canadian quarters are of approximately the same size, theeddycurrent separator may presently be utilized in acceptors at bordersites for slug rejection and coin validation.

However, it is apparent that the proposed pure nickel Canadian coinageis unsuitable for eddy-current separation since the intensity of themagnetic field utilized in eddy-current validators holds a magnetic coinand prevents acceptance. Therefore, if a common acceptor is to beutilized for legitimate coinage of both magnetic and nonmagneticcomposition, it is requisite that the magnetic coinage be precluded fromsubjection to magnetic fields of high holding power and yet some meansof rejecting ferrous slugs must be provided or present levels of slugprotection will be sacrificed.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide coinseparating means which operates independently of the metallic content ofthe coin.

As a corollary to the foregoing object, it is an important aim of theinvention to provide a separator as aforesaid which senses the edge of adeposited coin to determine whether or not serrations are present, thepresence of serrations being indicative of validity.

Another important object is to provide such a serration sensitiveseparator which positively stops the travel of a coin through theacceptor if its edge is unserrated, but permits a valid, serrated cointo continue its travel substantially unimpeded.

Still another important object is to provide a serration 3,483,958Patented Dec. 16, 1969 ice sensitive separator as aforesaid which isless subject to failure in the event that the acceptor is tilted, ascompared with prior coin separators which utilize the coin serrationssolely for changing coin trajectories. Coin separators that rely ondifferent trajectories for separating genuine coins and counterfeit areinherently subject to failure when tilted because of the influence oftilt on the velocities of the coins or slugs in the mechanism.

Additionally, it is an important object of this invention to provide acomposite, high security coin acceptor which positively rejects steelslugs irrespective of the presence of serrations but Without utilizingthe magnetic field of high holding power, and yet incorporates theaforesaid serration sensitive separator to provide a means of acceptinggenuine coins of both magnetic and nonmagnetic composition.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, front elevational view of a coin acceptor,parts being broken away to reveal the internal construction thereof andthe serration sensitive separator,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of theserration sensitive separator in response to engagement by a serratedcoin;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation of theserration sensitive separator in response to engagement by an unserratedcoin; and

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views of a modified form of theserration sensitive separator illustrating the operation thereof inresponse to engagement by an unserrated coin.

Referring to FIG. 1, a coin acceptor 10 has a rear plate 12 and a frontplate 14 between which deposited coins gravitate after being introducedinto the acceptor 10 through an entrance funnel 16 at the top edge ofplates 12 and 14. Coins of a particular denomination are received by arotatable cradle 18 which rotates in a clockwise direction to dischargethe coin from cradle 18 onto an inclined rail 20. The rail 20 iscomposed of a nonmagnetic material except for its lower end portion 22which is rounded and comprises a generally sector-shaped, magneticsection. A permanent magnet 24 is housed beneath the coinsupportingsurface of rail 20 and is in magnetically coupled relationship to themagnetic end section 22.

A scavenge lever 26 is mounted on a pivot pin 28 and carries a cam 30which is engageable with a follower roller 32 carried by the front plate14. The plate 14 may be pivotally mounted on the rear plate 12 formovement away from plate 12 in the usual manner for scavenging purposes,such movement being initiated by the depressing of lever 26 which, inturn, forces cam 30 into engagement with follower roller 32 to shift thefront plate 14 away from the rear plate 12 and effectively remove thesupporting rail 20 from beneath a coin stopped thereon.

The rail 20 provides a guide for a coin delivered thereto by cradle 18and supports the edge of the coin for rolling movement thereof down therail 20 toward the magnetized end section 22 and also toward a separatordevice 34 which extends into blocking relationship to the path of travelof the coin. The coin illustrated on rail 20 is shown at the time ofinitial contact of its serrated edge 36 with the separator device 34. Aswill be appreciated hereinafter, it is assumed that the serrated coin isgenuine unless it is composed of a ferrous material.

The separator device 34 includes an elongated member 38 which dependsfrom a pivot 40 and has a lower end defining a socket that rotatablyreceives the circularlyshaped end of an elongated latch arm 42. A stopelement 44 is integral with the lower end of member 38 and projectsleftwardly therefrom into underlying relationship to latch arm 42. Thelatch arm 42 has an outer end that presents a pointed tip 46 which isreceived in the serrations 36 of the illustrated coin.

The depending, pivotal member 38 is normally maintained in the positionillustrated in FIG. 1 by a counterweight 48 which forces the member 38against a stop in the form of an eccentric projection 50 on the enlargedhead 52 of a screw that is threaded into rear plate 12. A latchcomponent in the form of a catch 54 projects forwardly from rear plate12 and engages the latch arm. 42 when the latter is lifted to a raisedposition, as will become clear hereinafter.

Both member 38 and latch arm 42 may have a thickness approximately equalto the thickness of the coin to be tested for validity. Thus, the lowerend portion of member 38 and the latch arm 42 readily fit into the spaceprovided between the front and rear plates 14 and.12 of the acceptor 10.The screwhead 52 is kerfed to receive a screwdriver tip to provide anexpedient means of adjusting the normal position of the device 34 for apurpose to be subsequently discussed.

In operation, the deposit of a serrated coin causes an actionillustrated in FIG. 2. The relative positions of the coin and theseparator device 34 when the coin first engages the pointed tip 46 oflatch arm 42 is depicted in FIG. 1. As the coin continues to gravitatedown rail 20, the device 34 is forced to move with the coin since theserrations 36 frictionally grip the tip 46. This produces a swingingmovement of member 38 about pivot 40 in a counterclockwise direction asis apparent from FIG. 2. Thus, the device 34 is shifted into clearingrelationship to the coin and allows the latter to continue its travelalong rail 20 and gravitate therefrom. It should be noted that theaction of the projecting stop element 44 underlying latch arm 42 permitsthe arm 42 and the member 38 to swing as a unit when the arm tip 46 isengaged by a serrated coin.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 the operation of the separator when a coin having anunserrated edge is deposited is illustrated. Such a coin would either bea slug or possibly a genuine coin having a worn edge but which must alsobe rejected for maximum slug protection. The relative positions of theslug and the device 34 are the same as in FIG. 1 at the time of initialcontact. Subsequent movement of the slug. however, lifts the latch arm42 to a raised position (FIG. 3) since the smooth edge of the slugslidably engages the tip 46 rather than gripping the latter, andsubsequently causes displacement of the device 34 until latching occurs(FIG. 4). At this time, the tip 46 of latch arm 42 remains in engagementwith the edge of the slug to positively hold the same on rail 20 andpreclude further movement thereof. The slug must then be removed byscavenging in the usual manner.

A modified form of the separator is shown in FIGS.

5, 6 and 7. Except for possible reshaping of the latch arm 42, theconfiguration of the swingable separator device 34 is the same as shownand described above. The difference is in the positioning of the latchcomponent or catch 54a, the latter being further from the rail 20 andcloser to the stop 50 than in the form of the invention previouslydescribed. FIGURE shows the position of device 34 at the time of initialcontact by a slug having an unserrated edge. In FIG. 6 the latch arm 42has been raised as before by sliding engagement of the unserrated edgeof the slug with tip 46; however, the catch 54a now permits latch arm 42to ride on top of the slug, whereupon the latter continues to advanceuntil it bears against the outer end of the stop element 44. FIGURE 7shows the final positionof device 34 with element 44 holding the slug onrail 20.

A coin that passes the serration test is permitted to traject from themagnetized lower end 22 of rail 20. In FIG. 1, the longest trajectory 56depicts the path of a nonmagnetic coin which is not influenced by themagnetized end section 22. The intermediate trajectory 58 is followed bya coin of pure nickel composition which is magnetic and is thusinfluenced by the magnetized section 22, causing such coin to partiallywrap around the end 22 as its gravitates therefrom. The shortesttrajectory 60 is followed by a slug of ferrous material which is highlymagnetic and is wrapped to a considerably greater degree than the purenickel coin Since the trajectories 56 and 58 are relatively closetogether, suitable means (not shown) may be provided to direct coinsfollowing either of these trajectories along the accept track of theacceptor. A ferrous slug following trajector 60 is, of course, rejectedalong the same track that a coin scavenged from rail 20 traverses. Thus,the magnetic graduation tester provided by the magnetized rail section22 assures that ferrous slugs will not be accepted irrespective of thepresence of serrations thereon. However, either nonmagnetic coinage orpure nickel coinage that passes the serration test is accepted. Itshould be noted that the spacing of the section 22 of magnetic materialfrom the poles of magnet 22 enables the field actually presented to thecoin to be controlled and reduced to a level to preclude magnetic coinsfrom being held on the rail. This is to be avoided if both pure nickeland nonmagnetic coinage is to be accepted.

By shifting the stop 50 to the left or right by rotating the screwhead52, the angle of attack of the tip 46 with respect to the serrations 36may be adjusted as desired to set the range for the percentage of slugrejection and the percentage of coin acceptance. For highest coinacceptance, the latch arm 42 would be radially aligned with the coin atthe time of contact in order that its tip could engage a serration ofminimum depth. As the angle of attack is reduced by shifting the stop 50to the left, a point of maximum slug rejection is ultimately obtainedwhere only coinage with high ridges will be accepted.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a coin acceptor:

guide structure for supporting a deposited coin on its edge for movementalong a predetermined path of travel; a shiftable separator devicenormally disposed in said path for engagement by the edge of the movingcoin;

said device shifting in the general direction of movement of the coininto clearing relationship thereto in response to said engagement by theedge thereof if the latter has serrations for frictionally gripping thedevice and forcing the same to shift with the coin, whereby a coin witha serrated edge is permitted to continue to travel along said path;

said device including a pivotal, depending member mounted for swingingmovement in said direction about an axis spaced above said path andhaving a lower end provided with a stop element, and an upwardlyshiftable latch arm carried by said member and disposed for saidengagement by the edge of the moving coin;

said arm being shiftable to a raised position by a lifting action of themoving coin in response to sliding engagement of the edge of the movingcoin therewith, and having a normal position in engagement with saidstop element to cause the arm and the member to swing as a unit withoutrelative movement of the arm and the member into said clearingrelationship to the moving coin as long as the arm remains in its normalposition and is not lifted by the coin; and

a latch component adjacent said device and disposed for engagement bysaid arm upon lifting thereof to said raised position to hold the arm,and hence the device, against movement into said clearing relationshipto the moving coin, whereby to stop the moving coin when the edgethereof is relatively smooth and incapable of frictionally gripping thearm.

2. In a coin acceptor as claimed in claim 1, said latch arm beingelongated in configuration, extending from said member and pivotalthereon toward and away from said raised position, and presenting anouter, edge-engaging end.

3. In a coin acceptor as claimed in claim 1,

said latch arm having a pointed, edge-engaging tip;

there being stop means engageable with said member to limit movementthereof in the opposite direction and define a desired angle of attackof said tip relative to the edge of an engaging coin;

said device having means normally biasing said mem her in said oppositedirection to normally hold the member against said stop means.

4. In a coin acceptor as claimed in claim 1,

said structure including an inclined, coin-receiving rail defining saidpath and having a lower end from which the moving coin gravitates;

said device being disposed for said engagement by the edge of the movingcoin While the latter is on said rail, whereby the moving coin is testedfor serrations 6 prior to reaching said end of the rail and is held onthe rail is unserrated.

5. In a coin acceptor as claimed in claim 4, said rail having amagnetized section presenting said end, whereby trajectories areimparted to coins gravitating therefrom according to their magneticproperties.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 23,197 4/1910 Great Britain. 292,706 6/1928 Great Britain. 343,462 2/ 1931 Great Britain.

STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner

